Legislators to have toxic algae meetings

State legislators will have two public events to discuss dealing with Lake Erie toxic algae and the potential it could again contaminate drinking water.

Four state representatives will have a news conference at 10 a.m. Friday at the University of Toledo's Lake Erie Center in Oregon to discuss the issue.

The Lake Erie Legislative Caucus also will have a special meeting at 10 a.m. Aug. 15 at Maumee Bay State Park in Oregon, one of the areas whose beach has a harmful algal bloom.

"This is the most important challenge to Lake Erie in the last 50 years," said State Rep. Chris Redfern, D-Catawba Island, who is participating in the news conference and is a co-chairman of the Lake Erie Caucus.

Toxins from harmful algae caused Toledo to warn its more than 400,000 customers in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan not to drink the water over the weekend. The water contained the algal toxin microcystin, a nerve toxin that can cause liver problems and gastrointestinal illness.

And last fall, the Carroll Township water plant closed for a few days because of high levels of microcystin in drinking water. Carroll Township is on Lake Erie in Ottawa County.

There are no federal or state regulations for testing drinking water for microcystin or treating the toxin. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency works with plants along the lake's Western Basin to voluntarily test and treat the toxin.

"It's important that we seek out what is responsible and solve the problem," Redfern said.

The Lake Erie Legislative Caucus meeting will give legislators a chance to hear concerns from the public and interest groups, said Sen. Randy Gardner, R-Bowling Green, a co-chairman of the committee.

"Hopefully, there will be an additional update on the algal bloom," he said. "We wanted to have this ASAP to inform the public."

Gardner said he did not know who specifically would speak at the event but said there would be opportunities available for the public to give input.

The caucus is a group meant to educate legislators from across Ohio about the importance of Lake Erie and key issues affecting it, including tourism and environmental challenges, Gardner said. Another goal is to generate ideas and proposals to better the lake and region.